1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to internal combustion engines, such as those of automotive vehicles, and more particularly to novel engine conditioning apparatus and conditioning method for priming and cleaning internal carbon deposits and related residue and contaminants from such engines.
2. PRIOR ART
This invention is concerned with certain well known operating problems associated with internal combustion engines including both carbureted engines and fuel injected engines. One of these problems resides in the fact that during engine operation, deposits of carbon and related residue and contaminants, hereafter referred to simply as carbon deposits, form on the internal surfaces of the fuel handling means of such engines including the internal carburetor surfaces of carbureted engines and the internal fuel pump and fuel injector surfaces of fuel injected engines. Unless removed at regular intervals, these carbon deposits can build up sufficiently to seriously degrade engine performance and possibly even totally clog the fuel system and especially relatively small fuel passages in fuel injectors and carburetors.
Various engine conditioning procedures and systems have been devised for removing such internal carbon deposits from internal combustion engines. One known engine conditioning procedure, for example, involves disassembly of an engine and individual cleaning of the engine parts. This engine cleaning procedure is obviously complex, time consuming, costly, and requires the services of highly skilled personnel. Never-the-less, the procedure has one inherent advantage. This advantage resides in the fact that disassembly permits direct inspection of the engine parts and thereby accurate visual determination of their cleanliness. U.S. Pat. No. 4,787,348 discloses an alternative engine conditioning procedure which involves the use of a carbon cleaning agent without disassembly of the engine or the services of highly skilled technicians. This procedure does not permit a determination of the effectiveness of the carbon cleaning operation.
Another problem to which internal combustion engines, particularly diesel engines and other fuel injected engines, are subject is absence or loss of prime, that is failure of the fuel system to deliver fuel to the engine cylinders due to the presence of air in the fuel passage. Such loss of prime occurs or is prone to occur under various circumstances, such as when an engine is initially put into service, if the fuel system runs out of fuel, if a fuel line is disconnected, or when a fuel line is disconnected to service a fuel filter or for some other reason.
Accordingly, there is a definite need for an improved engine conditioning method and apparatus for the purpose described which will clean carbon deposits from an engine fuel system including, especially, the fuel injectors of a fuel injected engine and the carburetor of a carbureted engine. Since use of the conditioning apparatus will require disconnection of a fuel line and thus result in loss of engine prime, the conditioning apparatus should also be capable of priming the engine at the start and after completion of the cleaning procedure.